Video of woman calling cops on 8-year-old girl for selling water goes viral

Monday, June 25, 2018

'Permit Patty' video goes viral on social media. Matt O'Donnell reports during Action News Mornings on June 25, 2018.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A woman went viral after calling police on an 8-year-old girl who was selling water bottles to San Francisco Giants fans.

The controversial call was caught on video.

The woman, dubbed 'Permit Patty' by those on social media, but later identified as Alison Ettel, said that the little girl was "loudly" selling water outside her apartment for hours. The child's mother, Erin Austin, confronted the caller.

"She comes out and demands the permit for my daughter. She said if we didn't give it to her she'd call the cops," the girl's mother said. "So I said, 'OK, call the cops.' And she did."

"The lady called the police because I didn't have a permit," said the girl.

Woman calling cops on 8-year-old for selling water goes viral. Tamala Edwards reports during Action News Mornings on June 25, 2018.

Ettel told ABC News that she never spoke to the little girl. However, she said her building's security guard first tried to get the girl and her mom to keep the noise down or move.

Ettel said she "did phone the police but not to report them" and that she "simply wanted to know if what they were doing was legal."

Austin posted a video on Instagram stories showing her daughter out selling water again.